What are the benefits of positive thinking? How can neurocycling change your life and brain for the better?
Dr. Caroline Leaf has a program called neurocycling that can detoxify your mind and brain. In Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess, she explains why this program could help you overcome mental toxicity.
Let’s discuss the theoretical basis of neurocycling and then explore Leaf’s research on neurocycling.
The Theoretical Basis of Neurocycling
Leaf says that there are two benefits of positive thinking and neurocycling: They overcome the limitations of neuroreductionism, and they leverage directed neuroplasticity to positively shape the brain. Let’s explore each of these concepts in more detail.
Benefit #1: Neuroreductionism
Leaf argues that historically, mental health experts have placed too much emphasis on the physical brain: They believe that every mental process, including mental dysfunctions and illnesses like depression, is determined by the brain’s material makeup—its structure, neurological wiring, chemical functions, and so on. She refers to this point of view as neuroreductionism since it “reduces” mental experiences to purely physical phenomena. Leaf argues that in reality, your mental state is a reflection of your identity, life experiences, and thinking patterns—your brain has no bearing on your mental health.
Leaf says that because neuroreductionists turn to physical explanations for mental processes, they tend to think of mental illnesses as biological problems that must be properly diagnosed and then treated pharmaceutically. Leaf says this can do more harm than good for two reasons: First, diagnoses can be stigmatizing and objectifying—you’re a complex person with more than just a brain, and reducing your experiences to a diagnosis can oversimplify your identity. Second, pharmaceutical drugs are ineffective because they can only suppress symptoms; they don’t treat the root problem (mental toxicity), so you’ll continue to suffer poor mental health. Leaf also suggests that mental health drugs can be dangerous due to their side effects.
Benefit #2: Directed Neuroplasticity
In contrast with neuroreductionist mental health treatments that aim to improve your mental health by changing your brain, neurocycling targets your mind for strengthening. Recall that Leaf says your mind is a complex energetic field that becomes toxic when you fail to process unhealthy thoughts. If you can learn to control this energetic field, eradicate any toxic energy that’s infiltrated it, and prevent further toxic energy from accumulating, you can treat the root of your mental health problems (mental toxicity).
Mental toxicity leads to poor brain health, thus treating mental toxicity via neurocycling improves brain health. Leaf describes this strategy as “directed neuroplasticity.” Neuroplasticity refers to your brain’s ability to change in response to external influences—in this case, your mind (recall that Leaf says it’s independent of the brain). Directed means that you’re shaping these changes in a particular way—in this case, you’re making positive changes by eradicating unhealthy thoughts. Through directed neuroplasticity, you can rebuild your brain’s neural networks (the structure of physical thoughts) and improve its electrical activity to achieve coherence (the measure of brain health that Leaf says reflects your level of mental toxicity).
Clinical Research on Neurocycling
In addition to describing the theory that underlies neurocycling, Leaf also describes a clinical study she completed to prove neurocycling’s effectiveness at treating mental toxicity. According to this study, neurocycling successfully reduces mental toxicity (measured in terms of brain coherence) and all of its negative effects, including depression and anxiety symptoms, inflammation, and rapid aging. Leaf says these results mean anyone can use neurocycling to improve their mental and physical health.
(Shortform note: As of August 2024, Leaf’s study on the clinical effectiveness of neurocycling had not been peer-reviewed. Peer review is a process where independent academic experts evaluate a study’s methodology, data, and conclusions to ensure the research is rigorous and reliable. Generally speaking, peer-reviewed studies are considered more credible and are more likely to be accepted by the scientific community. Leaf says her research will undergo peer review in the future.)
